Hit by NASA's Spacecraft, This Space Object Is Now Orbiting the Sun l

Asteroid Dimorphos has undergone many changes after being hit by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Not only changing the movement, this collision makes Dimorphos change its path.

NASA deliberately crashed DART into Dimorphos in September 2022 as part of an asteroid collision prevention test for Earth. As a result of this collision, Dimorphos not only stopped orbiting Didymos, but also changed its path to the Sun's orbit.

The latest study, published in the journal Science Advances, revealed that Dimorphos' orbital period changed by 0.15 seconds over 770. The change in orbital velocity was recorded at about 11.7 microns per second or the equivalent of 1.7 inches per hour.

"This very precise team measurement once again validates kinetic impact as a technique to protect the Earth," said Thomas Statler, one of NASA's scientists, quoted on Monday, March 9.

The collision produced a large rock debris cloud that provided additional impetus for the Dimorphos asteroid. According to Rahil Makadia, the lead researcher in the latest DART study, the change in speed is very important in the context of planetary defense.

"Over time, these small changes can make the difference between a dangerous object hitting or missing our planet," Makadia explained in his study, quoted through NASA's latest report.

Data from this mission also revealed that Dimorphos has a lighter mass and is a type of 'rubble pile' asteroid. This discovery helps scientists understand how the asteroid system is formed and how to deflect it in the future.

As a follow-up step, NASA is now building the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission to search for dark asteroids that are difficult to detect. This next-generation space telescope is expected to be the front line of Earth's planetary defense system.